


A Fucking Cliché

by jamesiee



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, Future Fic, Happy Ending, M/M, NurseyDex week 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 12:33:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11578170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamesiee/pseuds/jamesiee
Summary: Dex has had the box since before Christmas.He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Nursey, almost as soon as they got their shit together, clichéd as it may be.Dex knows his future involves Derek Nurse. The ring is just for the sake of the socially constructed contract.





	A Fucking Cliché

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to get something done for [NurseyDex week](https://nurseydexweek.tumblr.com/) and this was of course written the last day at the absolute last minute (it's the 23rd where I am as I'm posting this). 
> 
> It's technically a sequel to [ Stupid Christmas Gift Giving Traditions](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9120040) but it can be read on it's own, just know that Christmas is a "a myth invented by evil capitalists in order to make people enter unwillingly into a social contract in which they’ll always be miserable because it’s a cycle that never ends" but Nursey's okay with being the lifetime social contract of gift giving with Dex. 
> 
> Completely unbeta'd so all mistakes are my own. I kinda just waved my hand in the general direction of an English Masters/PhD so if there's anything wrong with the timing of Nursey's degree pattern assume it's because I know nothing about English as a discipline. 
> 
> Main pairing: Nursey/Dex

Dex has had the box since before Christmas. 

He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Nursey, almost as soon as they got their shit together in their last year at Samwell and did something about the sexual tension that, according to Chowder, was threatening to choke the team. Moving in together after graduation into the little apartment in Boston had only cemented that. Nothing made Dex happier than coming home from work to find Nursey there on their couch smelling of coffee and full of stories about customers and coworkers or with a progress report on his dissertation (those were his favourite days; Nursey looked his best when his eyes were bright and his cheeks flushed as he told Dex about his most recent breakthrough.) A ring in a box on their fourth Christmas as a couple seemed like a natural progression of their relationship, even if College sweethearts was an overdone, clichéd trope. 

Then Nursey comes home from work one day on a tangent about Christmas, capitalism, and the social construct of gift giving as part of lifetime contract that has Dex panicking until Nursey clarifies; “I’m okay with being in a social contract with you until I die,” and Dex is able to breath easy again, knowing that they're on the same page.

Dex means to give Nursey the ring that Christmas Eve but he gets distracted by Nursey waking him up with breakfast in bed on their first day of shared vacation and then they're travelling to spend the holidays with family and asking Nursey to be in a lifetime socially constructed contract with him gets pushed to the side in favour of eating their parents’ home cooking and catching up with relatives and he never finds the perfect moment he imagined when the ring first caught his eye so it stays wrapped in a sock at the bottom of Dex's suitcase the whole time they're with their families. 

New Year's comes and they go to Time's Square after dinner with Nursey's moms and dad to watch the ball drop. Dex has the ring in his pocket, having put it there when he shakes it out what is his last pair of clean socks, forgetting it was there and almost losing it down the drain. He briefly considers getting down on one knee during the countdown but it's so crowded that he can't move from where he's plastered against Nursey's back, his chin resting on his shoulder to watch the screen. He spent the whole hour leading up to midnight worried that Nursey could feel the outline of the ring in Dex's pocket (he's wearing the skinny jeans Dex knew Nursey loves seeing him in) but even as Nursey grinds back against when Dex a little too innocently when someone pushed past them, he gives no indication of feeling anything. 

They chant along with the crowd when the 60 second countdown flashes on the screen; Dex whispering the numbers between pressing his lips to the spot just under Nursey's ear that makes him laugh. They hit zero laughing loudly when Nursey's aggressive elbow hits nothing and only Dex’s arms around his waist kept him from falling on the icy ground. 

Their first kiss of the New Year is interrupted when the people around them start clapping and cheering in a way that's different from the normal New Year's celebratory shouts. They pull apart to see a man on one knee putting a ring onto a woman who has happy tears streaming down her face as she nods vigorously. 

The ring in Dex's pocket feels like it's on fire now and his cheeks heat up as he considered shouldering people out of the way so he has room to get to his knee. 

“Man, what a cliché,” Nursey says, grinning as he rolls his eyes. He tucks his hand into Dex's mitten and pulls him away from the couple, now in a passionate embrace.  The ring looks really good on the woman's finger, Dex notes. Probably not as good as the silver band in his pocket but he's weirdly relieved he hadn't asked. If Nursey is chirping strangers about the unoriginality of a New York New Year’s Eve proposal, Dex know he'd never live the cliché down.

They go back to Boston and the ring finds a home in Dex's toolbox, one of the only places that he is 100% sure Nursey won't go into for fear of messing up whatever organizational system he thinks Dex has. Dex can't keep a toolbox organized to save his life, but he's not complaining about the rumour someone started at Samwell about him being intense about his tools if it keeps Nursey out of his hiding place. 

Dex thinks about where the ring is every time Nursey sticks his cold toes under Dex’s thigh when they’re home from work together, but it’s never a good time to run and get the ring so he just stays there, rolling his eyes because it’s expected of him at this point, but enjoying that Nursey would rather be close to him than use the throw blanket they keep on the back of the couch. The closeness is important to Dex, even after all this time.

January turns into February quickly and March and April pass just as fast and the ring doesn’t move from the toolbox. In May, Nursey gets another step closer to becoming “Dr. Nurse,” and Dex couldn’t be prouder as he sits with their families to watch Nursey cross the stage and get the degree that’ll put a M and A behind his name. After talking the decision through like adults, they decide that staying in Boston is the best choice for them; UMass has a good PhD English program and the Vice-Chief Technology Officer position is open at the start-up Dex joined right out of Samwell. He happily takes it when it's offered now that he knows they’ll be staying in the area for a while yet and with the pay increase, he and Nursey are able to upgrade out of their small apartment and into one a more centrally located between their jobs. The second bedroom is supposed to be an office space for both of them, but Dex finds he doesn't mind when the bookshelves start to overflow with what Nursey needs for his research and the desk gets messy with notes in Nursey's handwriting because asking Nursey about his work is easy when it's all laid out like that. Dex has always been attracted to competence and Nursey never looks better than when he's confidently walking Dex through his thesis statement again because Dex has a hard time wrapping his head around some of the terms. 

With his master’s finished, Nursey quits the coffee shop and teaches summer courses that’ll eventually go towards his PhD teaching requirements. Dex thought he’d miss Nursey’s stories about the people at the coffee shop, but it turns out that he’s just happy to just listen to Nursey’s stories, doesn’t matter if they’re about ridiculous coffeeshop coworkers or undergrad students who have a lot of say for a 100-level class. 

It’s during one of those stories in July, that Dex realizes the cliché perfect moment he’s been waiting for to ask Nursey to marry him has always been there. Cliché or not, Dex wants to spend the rest of his life with Nursey and he thinks a socially constructed contract is the best way to show that so he waits for Nursey to finish his story before excusing himself to dig around the toolbox for the ring. It’s as shiny as ever even after banging around there during the move and when he comes back into the living room and gets down on one knee between in front of Nursey's spot  on the couch, they’re both grinning. 

“Finally,” Nursey says before Dex can even say anything.

“Shut up,” Dex grumbles. He takes Nursey’s left hand in his right, running his hand over his knuckles. Nursey’s smile widens and he squeezes Dex’s hand tight. It helps soothe the butterflies that have suddenly sprung up in Dex's stomach.

“Derek Malik Nurse,” Dex starts. 

“Oh my god,” Nursey laughs at his full name. “You’re such a cliché.”

“I'm not!" Dex protests. "I didn't ask you at Christmas when I got the ring!” Dex is pretty sure that he isn't supposed to glare while proposing so he concentrates on smoothing out his expression. Nursey's face softens into one of Dex's favourite smiles and Dex's forehead smoothes out completely.

“You've had a ring since Christmas?” Nursey asks. He unfolds himself from the cross legged position that he'd been sitting in while he told Dex about his day, and sits with his feet on the ground so that his knees are on either side of Dex. He presses a kiss to Dex's forehead when Dex answers his question with a nod so Dex feels the huff of laughter. 

“Such a fucking cliché,” Nursey repeats. Dex groans and drops his head onto Nursey's thigh. 

“Nurse, I'm trying to ask you to marry me, can you just-” Dex breaks off when Nursey grabs his chin and makes him look up at him. Nursey's smiling but his eyes are serious. 

“Yeah Will,” he says softly. “I told you: there's no one I'd rather be in a social contract with until I die.” He makes a happy sound when Dex surges forward to press their lips together. 

Looking back, Dex’ll realize that he never actually said the words to ask Nursey to marry him, but like the fucking cliché that they are, words weren't needed to agree that they just needed each other to be happy. 

**Author's Note:**

> My [tumblr](http://www.pongpalace.tumblr.com/), where I spend way too much time if you too have too many feelings about over-emotional hockey players


End file.
